Tell me about the Regal Princess.

[Tess2mommies]

Hi Everyone!

 

I recently cruised on the wonderful Golden Princess and loved it and booked two open bookings. My SO and I were considering a cruise on the Regal Princess.

 

I have heard that the balcony's are smaller than on the newer ships, but we aren't getting a balcony so that's not a problem for us.

 

Is the ship nice?

How are the room?

We are in our early 20's and didn't get bored once on the Golden, but the Regal is smaller and we are thinking of a cruise that is 18 days long that has 8 sea days and we don't want to lose our minds.

 

I'd love to hear anything positive or negative about this ship.

[Mary Jane 711]

Hi there. I just spent 15 days on the Regal (dec 9 -24 Panama Canal transit). My husband and are both in our mid forties. We had a great time on the ship. But it does have its faults. DOn't get me wrong. Great ship, wonderful service. We had a oceanview room and found it spacious. HOwever, we felt like the daily itinerary was lacking. It was fine if you wanted to learn to dance or take scholarships at sea or play trivia twice a day. We were constantly bored on sea days. We had to make our own fun. Of course if you like to lay out in the sun and swim, then you are fine. The Lido deck area seemed to be the place to be. We werent interested in getting tan, and it was darned hot. We flew a kite a few times from the aft. I know, ho hum..But we also had a great time trying the drink of the day EVERY DAY and often. The shows at night are the usual. But I must say the dancers were exceptional. Especially Emma and Gordon, who we got to meet personally. The were in charge of the ceramics painting they offered on board. My husband was so bored he painted his own change bowl. ANd we took three days to do it!! You can read, of course eat, then eat again...But mostly we went for the excursions. They truly made the trip for us. If you have any other questions feel free to ask. Oh and we did catch up on about a dozen movies. And we got much needed rest..have fun on your cruise, and remember if need be, make your own fun.:p

[BJS]

We are in our early 20's and didn't get bored once on the Golden, but the Regal is smaller and we are thinking of a cruise that is 18 days long that has 8 sea days and we don't want to lose our minds.

You will find many more activities on the Grand class ships on sea days than you will find on either the Sun Class or Explorer Class ships. If you are going for the itinerary you might just have to find things to do on your own rather than rely on the ship providing them. If you are going just to cruise for a longer period of time consider a Grand Class ship.

[virgenia]

Mary Jane,

 

We will be taking that same cruise on March 24. Did you do excursions through the ship? If so, were there any that you particularly liked that you could recommend?

 

Virginia

[Cruisin Rick]

I was on the Regal two years ago for 10 days to Alaska. It's an older ship. It's more old world elegance than the glitzy newer ships. It has a nice pool area with a swim up bar at one pool. The thing I didn't like was there was no "indoor pool or a retractable covered pool. Being an Alaskan cruise that I was on, it didn't really present a problem but on a warmer weather cruise, it's nice to spend sea days at the pool and if there's a wind, it can be uncomfortable.

The Regal has it's own movie theater, which is very nice. The cabins are slightly larger than many other ships. The showers were twice as big as we were used to on other ships too.

The service and food was very good, and we enjoyed the shows. One of the dancers had taken her picture with me at the doorway to the main dining room one night. I'm sure she thinks of me still....... hehe

I didn't really care for the showroom layout but it was okay. There is a free laundrymat which will come in handy on an 18 day cruise.

I suspect that you'll be among many people much older than you but that will be the case on almost all 18 day cruises nomatter what ship or cruise line.

I enjoyed my cruise on the Regal. I don't regret it at all, but I probably wouldn't book it again as I like a little newer ship and an indoor pool is important to us.

Any cruise will be fun and enjoyable. I've seen others make themselves miserable though. There's really no reason for that. Most people don't live that good at home. Have fun!

[Druke I]

We've been on the Regal Princess twice, and have booked a third trip on her for Mar 2006, 'round Cape Horn.

 

I much prefer her to the Grand class of ships - I think she is more intimate than the behemoths. The cabins are adequate in size, and we think well appointed.

 

She has a dedicated movie theater, something the newer ships don't have. She does lack a full promenade, and doesn't have a true alternative restaurant, although the Lido does serve that function.

 

There are some planned renovations/upgrades planned for the ship, and when completed she should be even nicer. You might want to read BDJams' thread and review of his cruise on the Regal for elaboration of the upgrades.

[Pam in CA]

We were on the Regal Princess for the 15-day cruise to Hawaii last spring. There were 10 sea days and there were so many things to do that I couldn't fit everything in. The days just flew by. I was just on the Caribbean Princess last week and in looking at the Patter, there were only one or two things going on at any one time. On the Regal, there was a choice of 4 - 5 things to do at any one time. I loved the dune buggy races that were held on the dance floor. What a hoot!

 

The cabins on the Regal are a bit larger than on the Grand-class ships and the bathrooms are larger as well. The showers are in converted tub areas so they're almost twice as big as on the other ships. There was also much more storage space than on the Caribbean Princess.

 

Yes, there are some signs of aging but heck, there were signs of aging on the Caribbean Princess and she's not even a year old!

 

Because it's a smaller ship, we found it much easier to meet people and get together with them afterwards. I don't know -- everyone seemed to be much friendlier on the Regal Princess from the crew and staff to the passengers.

 

The food in the Lido (the equivalent to the Horizon Court) was much better and more varied than what I saw on the Caribbean Princess last week. The choices were much greater and every sea day, they put together a dessert buffet that's to die for.

 

There are two negatives to the Regal Princess IMHO. One is that the Dome is wasted space. It's a great place for a bar or hangout but it's not really being used as such. The other thing is that if you're in the Lido and want a soda-card soda, the nearest bar is completely across the deck and the waiter has to go there to get your soda. So it can take a long time. Other than that, I'd go back on the Regal in a flash. It's one of my favorites.

[calikak]

I was on the Regal for 7 days in Alaska in 2001, and we were about your age at the time (I'm 28 now). It was our first cruise (DH proposed), and we had a great time. I didn't think the smaller ship made it any less entertaining than our cruise on the Diamond, I mean, it's still got a casino and a spa and the movie theater and bars and shops and hot tubs and pools. But, I'm also someone who loves to just sit down with my knitting or a good book for a few hours at one of the bars, and DH is a marathon napper. We also didn't get bored because we were travelling with some friends of ours and could hang out with them if we wanted. So, maybe you and SO can talk another couple into coming along with you?

[Tess2mommies]

Thank you everyone for your informative post.

[bdjam]

There are some planned renovations/upgrades planned for the ship, and when completed she should be even nicer. You might want to read BDJams' thread and review of his cruise on the Regal for elaboration of the upgrades.

Michael – thanks for the referral! I’ve posted the link to my Regal review below.

It seems that the first round of changes that were promised for Regal Princess didn’t happen…she was dry-docked in Norfolk, although she was scheduled to dry dock in the Bahamas. I’m assuming the change in location was due to the hurricanes and that the lack of the changes was due to the different location. But what do I know?

I think the posts here pretty much detail what is special about Regal Princess – and for me that’s the fact that she’s not a mega-ship. The cruise experience is NOT the same as what you’ll find on a seven-day Caribbean run. For some of us, this is a good thing, but for others, it might not be.

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=72529&highlight=Regal+Review

[annie47]

we are booked in dec on the regal, are the balconys the same size as the ones on the sun class ship, thanks annie

[Nancy & Tom]

Thank you, BDjam, for giving us the information to find your thread. I had read your review before and had printed it out for reference. I failed to thank you for taking time to write such a complete report. My husband and I are scheduled for a Grand Panama trip on the Regal beginning February 7th. Your comments really helped. Best wishes for a Happy 2005! A Pennsylvanian!

[bdjam]

Thank you, BDjam, for giving us the information to find your thread. I had read your review before and had printed it out for reference. I failed to thank you for taking time to write such a complete report. My husband and I are scheduled for a Grand Panama trip on the Regal beginning February 7th. Your comments really helped. Best wishes for a Happy 2005! A Pennsylvanian!

I’m glad my review helped – hope you have a great cruise. I did my first Panama Canal trip on Regal Princess and it was brilliant!

[cruisepest]

We love the Regal and are looking into sailing on her in 2005 and 2006. The ship is older but is more traditonal than the newer ships. The only possible draw back would be there is no PC dinning. The crew and the service have always been excellent. Sea days are what you make out of them on any ship, and the Regal does have the normal daily activities, when you book a longer cruise you tend to get an older crowd, but that is great you do not get the rowdy kids or unruly crowds. Go to the review section and read some of the memeber reviews, we can honestly say the Regal is better now than when she first was launched.

[bdjam]

The only possible draw back would be there is no PC dinning.

That’s actually not a drawback for me. But the lack of Anytime Dining does not mean there are not alternatives. There is Bravo Pizzeria that serves pizza in a restaurant atmosphere – you sit at tables rather than having counter take-away service. There’s the Bistro which opens at 7:00 p.m. in the Café Del Sol and serves full meals. There’s also the Café Del Sol buffet and room service. So you’re not stuck in the dining room every night by any means.

However, of my recent Princess cruises, the service and food quality in the Regal dining room was tops. I wouldn’t miss it!

[LARGIN]

I agree with bdjam... Up until this past years two sailings on the Coral, the Regal was my favorite. I would sail on the Regal again in a heartbeat.

[SharkieRools]

I would sail on her again in a heartbeat too, in fact I am! :)

[Tess2mommies]

Thanks for the advice on the Regal everyone.

 

We just have to decide if we really want to do the 18 day cruise on the Regal next December. The itinerary seems great to my partner and she thinks it will be a great experience. However I think it's too expensive to fly back home from Brazil and having done only one cruise, which was a 7 day and to jump up to a 18 day seems a little too premature.

 

What do you guys think?

[LARGIN]

Icebrat.. How about a 15 day LA/Hawaii/LA on the Coral or a 10 day SF/Mexico/SF on the Dawn? Not much flying involved..

[Deloresgardella]

Or how about FLL to S.F. on the Coral. It is 15 days through the Panama Canal in April. Since you live in the Bay Area you only have to fly one way.:)

 

Delores

[bdjam]

We just have to decide if we really want to do the 18 day cruise on the Regal next December. The itinerary seems great to my partner and she thinks it will be a great experience. However I think it's too expensive to fly back home from Brazil and having done only one cruise, which was a 7 day and to jump up to a 18 day seems a little too premature.

What did you think of the seven day cruise? Could you imagine yourself on Golden Princess for 18 days? Then think you’re going to be on a smaller and probably quieter ship. Still think you can do 18 days? It’s really a matter of pacing oneself…I’ve done 17 days and was a bit perturbed at being asked to leave the ship at the end of the cruise, but unless you’re really into the experience, 18 days is a whopper…especially with the travel.

I think I’d shoot for a 10-dayer first.

[Guest newhampshire]

Hi Everyone but especially Mary Jane, We are on the Regal on Panama Cruise in March, what shore excursions did you do, or what do you recommend. This is our first cruise through the Canal. Thanks:)